above are ICF chapter headings. For 3 and 4-digit codes under these chapter headings, please refer to the Environmental Factors component of theICF.

Collection and usage attributes

Guide for use:

Environmental factors make up the physical, social and attitudinal environment in which people live and conduct their lives. Environmental factors are external to the individual and can have a positive or negatvie influence on a person's participation as a member of society, on performance of activities, or on a person's body function or structure.

Environmental factors represent the circumstances in which the individual lives. These factors are conceived as immediate (e.g. physical features of the environment, social environment) and societal (formal and informal social structures, services and systems). Different environments may have a very different impact on the same individual with a given health condition.

Facilitators are features of the environment that have a positive effect on disability. Barriers are features of the environment that have a negative effect on disability.

This metadata item, in conjunction with Extent of environmental factors influence code [X]N, may be used in health, community services and other disability-related data collections to record the environmental factors that facilitate or inhibit optimum functioning at the body, person or societal level. Identification of environmental factors may assist in determining appropriate interventions to support the person to achieve optimum functioning.

'Environmental factors' is one of three components that define the concept 'Disability'. 'Body functions and structures' and 'Activities and participation' are the other two components.

The following are examples of the permissible values listed in the Environmental Factors component of the ICF:

Code 1 Products and technology:

Examples include: products or substances for personal consumption, products and technology for personal use in daily living, products and technology for personal and indoor mobility and transportation, products and technology for communication, products and technology for education, products and technology for employment, products and technology for culture, recreation and sport, products and technology for the practise of religion and spirituality, design, construction and building products and technology of buildings for public use, design, construction and building products and technology of buildings for private use, products and technology of land development, assets.

Examples include: individual attitudes of immediate family members, individual attitudes of extended family members individual attitudes of friends, individual attitudes of acquaintances, peers, colleagues, neighbours and community members, individual attitudes of people in positions of authority, individual attitudes of people in subordinate positions, individual attitudes of personal care providers and personal assistants, individual attitudes of strangers, individual attitudes of Health professionals, individual attitudes of other professionals, societal attitudes, social norms, practices and ideologies.

The prefix e denotes the domains within the component of Environmental Factors.

Codes at the ICF chapter headings (i.e. single digit headings such as '4' for the Attitudes chapter) may be recorded. If further detail is required, the Environmental Factors component of the ICF provides 3 and 4-digit codes. For example, in the Environmental Factors classification there are these codes:

e5 Services, systems and policies

e580 Health services, ssytems and policies

e5800 Health services

There are numerous possible methods for collecting environmental factors. Information can be collected on:

all environmental factors;

environmental factors of particular relevance;

a number of environmental factors, prioritised according to specified criteria;

one environmental factor per person; or

record environmental factors for each recorded body function, body structure, and activities and participation.

Source and reference attributes

Submitting organisation:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which is the Australian Collaborating Centre for the World Health Organization Family of International Classifications.

Origin:

World Health Organization (WHO) 2001. ICF: International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva: WHO

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2003. ICF Australian User Guide Version 1.0. Canberra: AIHW

Reference documents:

Further information on the ICF including more detailed codes, can be found in the ICF itself and the ICF Australian User Guide (AIHW 2003), at the following websites: